In a boys' 106-pound bout at USA Boxing's 42nd annual Junior Olympic National Championships at the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center, Ochoa, of Sanger, Calif., and Rivera, of Nimayma, Fla., went with bell-to-bell punching as their choice of tactics, which resulted in a 2-1 decision for Ochoa.

It's not just the lighter weight classes who like to whale away on each other either. On Thursday night, Mario Hernandez of Sparks, Nev., and Skylar Johnson of Gillette, Wyo., battered each other all over the ring in 176-pound bout - the competition's heaviest - before Johnson's second standing-eight count of the second round ended the bout early in Hernandez's favor.

Girls' boxing at the Junior Olympic National Championships: June 27, 2013MOBILE, Alabama -- Melanie Gonzalez (red) of Houston and Anna Crutchfield of Greenville, S.C., squared off in a girls' 125-pound bout at USA Boxing's Junior Olympic National Championships on Thursday night at the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center. This is the opening minute of the fight, which Crutchfield won by a 2-1 decision.

"Amateur boxing for this age group, the 15- and 16-year-olds, is action-packed from the time the first bell rings, all three rounds," said Debbie Holmes, the tournament director and the past chairman of the USA Junior Olympic Task Force "These youngsters are vying for a spot to be the national Junior Olympic champion. They work very hard, their skills are toned, and they put on quite a performance - a lot of jabbing, a lot of combinations, movement, very exciting boxing. You definitely will not be bored."

With each bout scheduled for three two-minute rounds, the Junior Olympians don't have time to feel out opponents or catch their breath in the ring.

"It's short," Holmes said. "They're scored on their ability in each round separately, so if they have a round where they don't do well they're not out of. They can come back."

Ochoa said his light flyweight fight was business as usual.

"I try to fight my hardest and go in there with my best attitude and do the best I can," he said. "I'm in good condition, and I train every day.

"I'm looking at what he does, and I'm trying my best not to get hit. I feel like skillwise and having to show all the judges that you are the dominant fighter worked."

Ochoa said the Mobile tournament is the biggest he's been in, and he has his semifinal strategy picked out for Friday: "I'll give you guys a show."

Three boxers who went with the U.S. boys' team to a top tournament in the Ukraine fought on Thursday night. They earned their spots on the international squad by winning at the Junior World Team Open in January.

All three - Shakur Stevenson of Newark, N.J., Michael Nelson of Mansfield, Ohio, and Brandon Trejo of Napa, Calif. - won on Thursday night, too.

Nelson fought past Garrett Rincon of Anaheim, Calif., with a 2-1 decision in a 125-pound bout.

"I fought him at the Junior Worlds in the finals and beat him there and just now beat him, so he's a pretty good opponent," Nelson said.

Nelson said the international experience could give him the edge he needs to win the tournament's featherweight championship.

"It helps a lot because you've seen new styles, and styles make fights," Nelson said. "There's a lot of good competition here just as there was there. They're about the same skillwise, so it definitely helps you here when you come back to the United States."

Nelson said he learned something else on his trip abroad, too.

"It makes you appreciate America," he said. "It's a lot nicer here than it is there, but it was a good experience."

Defending boys' flyweight champion Isidro Ochoa of Fresno, Calif., has grown into the featherweight class this year. But he still posted a victory on Thursday night by beating Troy Isley of Alexandria, Va., 3-0. Another returning champ, Akemi Collazo of San Antonio, lost a girls' featherweight bout 3-0 to Zoe Glass of Lansing, Mich.